Detective Danny Williams
by Kelcor
Summary: One Shot. Basically a sequel to my Chin Ho Kelly story. Second in a series of one shots I have in mind. Tag to Season 1 finale. No slash.


_A/N I know I still owe you all another chapter for Ohana, and it is in the works, I promise you. But this just wouldn't leave me alone. And, although it is a one shot, I kind of have a series of one shots in mind. All surrounding the after effects of the season 1 finale. ~Kelcor_

Danny stood off to the side, away from the crime scene tape. Even while the officer on duty spoke with Chin, his eyes never strayed from Danny, like he expected him to jump over the yellow tape and run into the mansion with permission - which, to be honest, was exactly what Danny was itching to do! But, he had promised Chin he would wait, so he'd wait... for now.

"Listen," Chin said, "I was the one who cuffed him, okay? If he's guilty, he's guilty. But even if he's Five-0, he's still one of us, and we stand by our own, right? Don't you want to be absolutely sure he did this before he gets sentenced to life in prison?"

Finally, the officer's eyes made contact with Chin's. Apparently, he saw the truth in them because he nodded, albeit reluctantly, and lifted the tape as silent permission for both former Five-0 agents to enter the crime scene.

Chin clapped him on the shoulder. "Mahalo," he said, sincerity clear in his voice.

H50H50H50

As they searched the Governor's home office, Danny was still fuming at the memory of his partner being taken away in handcuffs for a crime that Danny _knew _he hadn't committed. Sure, Steve went all Rambo sometimes but the guy was _not _a murderer. If he said Wo Fat killed the Governor, then Danny believed him. Until about half an hour ago, he had been beginning to think he was the only who did. Then Chin had called.

Despite his anger towards the man, Chin was still his friend, had found him in a pub clear across town when Danny had thought that no one believed him about Micah. Chin had been the one who had made him realize that Steve would come around eventually - which, he had. So, Danny had agreed to meet Chin on a dark, abandoned road where they could be guaranteed some semblance of privacy, though Danny was beginning to believe this conspiracy was larger than he had originally thought possible. He owed Steve a huge apology once this was all over, once they got Steve out of prison.

Even then, as they had each leaned against their own respective vehicles, arms crossed over their chests with deceptive casualness, Danny had been debating on whether or not he still trusted Chin to have Steve's back. But Chin's explanation that he had just returned to the HPD to ensure McGarrett didn't get railroaded actually made a weird kind of sense. Danny could see why he would have had to keep up appearances to keep the rest of the force believing he was the good guy so that, when they did find evidence to clear Steve, they would trust Chin's case against the Governor and Wo Fat. Chin being the one to slap the cuffs on McGarrett also came in handy just a few moments ago, in his plea to get the two of them into the crime scene. So, yeah, Danny trusted Chin again. He smiled softly to himself, happy that he was no longer alone in his mission to prove his partner's innocence.

"You know, the CSI's have already been here," Chin advised, taking pictures of the prints on the already dusted door handle. "There may not be anything to be found. Besides, if Wo Fat was here, he'd be too smart to leave any evidence behind."

"Now? Now, you decide to go all negative energy on me," Danny demanded, shining his flashlight under the Governor's desk and filing cabinet.

"Not negative. Just realistic. Wo Fat is a pro. And the CSI guys go over crime scenes with a fine-toothed comb. If they didn't find anything, then - "

"Oh, come on! You have GOT to be kidding me!"

"Danny, I thought we got past this? I believe in Steve's innocence as much as you do. Is sarcasm really necessary?"

"Hey, Mr. Sensitive," Danny called, prompting Chin to turn around to face him.

As soon as Chin saw the abandoned cell phone in his friend's hand, he realized he had heard the words but had totally misinterpreted the tone. With a blush and a self deprecating chuckle, Chin said, "Sorry. What did you find?"

"Thank you. Now. This right here," he said, waving a small dark object in the air, "is Steve's phone. I'd recognize all these little scrapes and dents anywhere. Could probably tell you which kamikaze stunt caused each and every one of them. _But_ that's a story - or epic novel - for another day. What's important right now is this. If Steve came here with the sole plan to kill the Governor, do you really think he'd be stupid enough to record the whole thing?"

Chin stepped closer to get a better look at the phone. His eyebrows jumped to his hairline when he read the words on the screen.

_RECORDING DELETED_

"So, assuming Kono isn't sharing a prison cell with Steve right now, do you think she could recover whatever was recorded on this thing?"

"That girl can do amazing things with a computer... wait a minute. Why would she be sharing a cell with Steve?"

With a sigh, Danny realized that Chin hadn't heard about his cousin's run-in with Internal Affairs yet. "I'll tell you all about it on the way. Come on, let's get back to Five-0. We do still have an office, right?"

"Office? Yes. Full immunity and means? Not a chance."

"We can work with that," Danny assured him, slipping Steve's phone into his pants pocket. They each nodded goodbye to the officer at the door, ducked under the tape and headed for their vehicles. Chin was already sitting astride his bike and about to put his helmet on when Danny turned back to him and said, "Oh, and a word to the wise? You really need to stop making unilateral decisions when it comes to protecting the people you care about, Chin. We're a team now. We all care about the same people. And, even if we don't? We do care about you."

With that, Danny hopped into his car and turned the engine over, but not before seeing the look of pleasure cross his friend's face. Now, if they could just get that same look on Steve's face sometime in the near future, then maybe, just _maybe, _he would be able to call Rachel and tell her he was finally coming home. He didn't miss the fact that he was being a bit of a hypocrite for thinking of leaving the team two seconds after giving Chin that speech. But Rachel was carrying his baby, she and Grace were waiting for him in New Jersey. With all the times he's said how important family is, wouldn't _not _leaving Hawaii to be with them make him an even bigger hypocrite? Didn't it count for something that he wasn't leaving until he fixed this situation with Steve? Somehow, this internal argument didn't make him feel any better. Was he really going to be able to leave one family for another?

_THE END_

_A/N Reviews are always loved and appreciated! And the first things to be opened in my inbox! ~Kelcor_


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